The Rainbow Wing
by She Who Loves Pineapples
Summary: GAMEVERSE. Tension is building up between Johto and Kanto. Champion Crys, looking for answers, discovers the disturbing truth about the history of Pokemon. Will she be able to fill her earned role as Champion, or lose it all to the anger of others?
1. Prologue

I've been thinking lately. About Okaa-san, and Green, and Ōkido-hakase. Wataru and Kanna and Siba and Kikuko. Different Trainers I met along the way. Ones whose names I never knew, with faces I never memorized. Even the Rockets, and the little boy who used to hang around in their hide-outs. I've been wondering. About all of them.

It's so hard now to imagine what their lives are like outside now. In their little societies, with all the drama and man-made problems. Do they really understand the meaning of the words they seem to proud to speak? Love, I learned in this place, is not a contract to hang over someone's head. Friendship - this kind - doesn't end with the deletion of a phone number. Does it? Maybe I'm just out of touch. I've been alone for so long, I'm the one who doesn't know what words mean. Perhaps we haven't found the words for these kinds of feelings yet, so I made up phrases for myself. If I am wrong, and this really isn't the same thing as love... I like my definition better.

I don't really miss them. It's hard to miss them when they're here in my thoughts. I missed them more when I was still the Champion. To miss someone is to be with him or her, and know the things between you both aren't like they used to be. I missed Green when he saw me as the one who stole his Championship from him, instead of the childhood rival who he liked to tease. And I missed Okaa-san when she saw me as her son who had left a long time ago, instead of the little boy who needed her to kiss it better when he scraped his knee. Worst of all, I missed the strangers when they started calling me "Champion" instead of "Trainer".

But now, everything I remember about them – the memories are sweet, now. Not like communication, which, until I came here, always seemed to be so painful.

I bet they're wondering what I'm doing, staying up here instead of down there with them. I used to wonder, too.

It's because I was the Champion.

It's true. I was ecstatic to be the Champion, yes. I'd worked toward that goal all my life. That was the problem. Once I'd met the goal, I had nothing to work for. I'd gotten everything I'd ever wanted, but lost my sole purpose in life. And being the Champion was simply not the same thing as being a normal Trainer. No carefree traveling or you were irresponsible. No hanging out, or you were shirking your duties. And the other Trainers never had the courage to just battle. To add to it all, I was being chased constantly by reporters. Everything I did ended up in the papers. It wasn't what I wanted, but by the time I realized that, it was too late to go back. The next best thing was to go home.

But I couldn't. I just couldn't go back to home, where there was nothing for me. So I decided to go wherever my feet took me. At first, I was thinking about Johto. They shared our League, but people said the Trainers weren't as serious there. Most people said that condescendingly, but it sounded perfect to me. Of course, I never made it to Johto. This place was as far as I got. Mt. Shirogane. And I'm still here.

When will I go back?

I'm staring now at the blinding brightness that leads to the outside world. It is not like the light that leads to the meadow where wild mushroom and berries grow and there are dead trees and dry places to start a fire. That is not so bright with the walls of mountain to loom over it. There is light there, but no human eyes to register it. There is no brightness.

This is the brightness that comes not from the sun, but from watches, televisions, flickering cameras. This is the brightness that will chase all the peaceful privacy into the deepest corners until it finally shrinks away. This is the brightness that will not leave with the closing of eyelids, because the images it bears are so potent they will embed themselves into my thoughts. And I am scared of that brightness, but ever since the last Time of New Firewood Gathering, I have been staring into it for periods of Time It Takes to Get Hungry in between intervals of Time It Takes to Nap. At first not knowing if I would touch it. And then came the time when I realized that the If had dwindled down to a When without a Why.

I have stepped closer to it. I have never been this close before. I blink because my eyes hurt, but I don't keep them closed. The six Pokémon who were with me before I came have gathered and I can sense that each individual one is feeling my apprehension.

The moment the tip of my foot meets the brightness, it crawls up through the tunnels of me, burning the dark security of those twelve seasons on Mt. Shirogane away.


	2. Chapter One

**A/N: Eh. This chapter is pretty much ALL explanation. I really hated it for that reason, and six pages in I was going to revise it, but then realized I'd never get anywhere if I keep doing that and I needed to hurry up and finish the darned thing. So, sorry if the chapter is boring to you. Lt. Surge is OOC, sorry. Maybe I can fix this later. And I realize almost all of the background in this story is completely non-canon and also weird. Please forgive it. Also, I know Surge is from America, not Orre. My reasoning behind making him from Orre is this: Orre is based off of Arizona, which is part of America. For this story, calling him "American" does not mean he's from the U.S. ; the term American means from one of several politically separate, but culturally similar regions in what was once the United States. Erm. Anyway. Thank you if you bother to read through this. Hopefully there's enough humor to get you through this chapter. It gets interesting next chapter. Hehe... yeah.**

I stared at the map of Kanto as if I hadn't memorized it. I flicked the pointer over every location as if I actually had time to visit them. That's what you do when you're sitting on the end of a table, isolated, and everyone on the long sides is glancing at you in between whispers. You pretend to be doing something.

There were four minutes left until the meeting was to start. We could have begun right then, and some people, like Ibuki and Kasumi, were obviously impatient. But Natsume hadn't arrived yet.

**NIBI CITY HANADA CITY KUCHIBA CITY**

_Kuchiba City._

I pictured the blond-haired man who now sat in his proper seat, glaring at me.

"_Help me, Houou", _I mumbled under my breath.

Wataru, sitting on my right side, touched my hand under the table. It's amazing, the way he can touch. Like he can just brush all the worry away. I clutched one of his fingers and smiled at him nervously. He looked as me reassuringly, then let go of my hand to scratch his face. It was then 9:57, and Natsume would show up any moment. I leaned my chair back so its front legs were off the floor and I could see the stained-glass ceiling. I suddenly thought of the mosaic Mew on the wall. Then I had one of my strokes of brilliance and got the idea into my head to lean far enough back to see it.

I went gradually, inch-by-inch. By the time I was on my tiptoes, I could see the very tip of the picture. But not enough of it. And let me tell you something about me – I do not know when to quit. I mean, I like that trait and all, and I don't think I'd ever have been Champion without it. But it's not always so good, since it doesn't always apply to stuff that important. Without even thinking about it, I lifted up one of my feet and wrapped it around the leg of the table – and shrieked. My chair collapsed underneath me, I fell, my head hit the wall, and the next thing I knew, I was on the floor with my legs in the air and the voice of DJ Lilith came through on my PokéDex, chattering, "Like, _Wataru_! Can you believe it? I mean, he may have been Champion, but _look _at that silly cape he wears! And his _hair_!"

I banged my PokéGear against the floor and it shut up. There was a moment of awkward silence until Wataru said kind of quietly, "I _like _my hair." And then the laughter came. Not only at Wataru's remark, but at _me_. Even the mosaic Mew – of which I now had a decent view, I thought with less satisfaction than it was worth – seemed to be laughing at me. I wanted to lie on the floor and never come back up.

_I'm an idiot. _I informed myself.

And then there was Wataru, standing above me with a smile – a real, genuine _smile_, not a smirk or a leer – on his face, and his hand out for me to take, and that was why I didn't jump to my death out the window then and there. (Exaggeration.)

So I stood up, and Wataru, being the gentleman he is, picked my chair up for me and held it out while he waited for me to sit in it. I plopped down in probably the most _un_-ladylike way possible, and didn't realize it until I noticed Karen cringing at me and Kasumi giggling. I suddenly remembered what Kasumi had taught about "looking professional", so I crossed my legs at the ankles and held my hands out in front of me and stared straight ahead. And then Wataru kicked me under the table.

"Start the meeting!" he whispered.

Shoot. Natsume had, apparently, teleported herself in and I hadn't even noticed.

I sprung to my feet quickly and slammed my notebook down on the table, practically shouting, "_Welcome! I am Crys, the current champion, and this meeting will now officially commence!_"

There was a moment's pause. _Now what? _

Green raised his hand.

"Yes?" I said.

"What's the meeting about?" he asked.

I blinked at him. "If you don't know that, you're an idiot."

Kasumi guffawed.

"It's a – um, _sequel _– to the last meeting. But just about the thing that… Matis proposed."

Green raised his hand. "By _sequel_," he asked, "do you mean, '_continuation'_?"

"Uh, sure," I said. I looked past him. "Something to say, _Natsume_?"

It took her a while to answer me. She gazed at me in that somewhat off-putting way Natsume does, and remarked, "This isn't worth my time. I'm leaving."

She vanished, leaving behind a sealed envelope in her place.

"It says, 'My Proposal'," Anzu announced as she grabbed it. "Should I open it?"

"Wait 'til the meeting ends," Matis answered for me.

I stamped my foot immaturely, but no one noticed. Conversation had erupted. "Quiet, please," I said in the most professional way I could, and then I grabbed a piece of paper from the table in front of me and began to read. I normally was a slow reader, but I'd practiced reading this particular statement so often that it was half-memorized and came out fluidly. "Ahem. The statement of the problem is thus: Challengers of the Pokémon League, Kanto and Johto, have been known to cause problems that overall stem from immaturity. There have been reports of young Trainers cheating in Battle, neglecting and abusing their Pokémon, running away from home, stealing Pokémon and items, using Pokémon to harm humans, and other such offenses. A survey shows that the committers of such offenses are approximately six times more likely to be juveniles or adults who did not graduate from a valid, Kanto-based school. Is there anyone who denies the validity of this problem?"

Nobody raised their hand. Nobody could deny that those things happened – I'd encountered all of them at least once during the first month of my journey.

I tried not to look directly at Matis as I repeated the standard phrase. "Does anyone have any…"

And then I forgot. I forgot the word that I was supposed to say, the word that was like _propose_, except it was a _thing _and not an action. Time was running out! A word came from the back of my head and I blurted it without thinking.

"Does anyone have any _prepositions_?"

Nobody said anything. Finally Green raised his hand.

"Yes, Green?"

"Through, over, around," he said.

"Um, what?" I looked at Wataru for help.

"_Prepositions_ is a grammatical term," he said kindly. "I think the word you have in mind is _propositions_. Or _proposals_."

Oh.

"Right, _proposals_, then. Does anyone got any of those?"

Silence. Finally Matis, without even bothering to raise his hand, stood up. I sat down because I was starting to get light-headed. He banged his fist. We all looked up.

"_I _have a _proposal_," he declared. "_I _propose that we revert the League back to the thing it was supposed to be in the first place – a method of finding competent leaders."

"Please explain," I said curtly.

"The League," he said, "has been the way it is now for centuries. It is embedded into all our hearts as a symbol of _our_ culture and _our _region. It is the bedtime story we all heard as dreamy-headed children, the epitome of hope for the future, because its nature entails the permission of _anyone_ to join, no matter what, and become a legend. Because of this, we are afraid to change. But think of what can happen if we don't!

"Listen. I grew up in Pyra Town, Orre – an anarchy in the most brutal sense of the word. Oh, we do have _mayors_ and _police _there – but it's a mere formality. The _true _power belongs to those lucky enough to possess Pokémon. Those with Pokémon do whatever they please, terrorizing families and the community. One needs merely to step out of one's house in the morning to become the victim of a mugging, or worse. Of course, it wasn't always like that.

"When I moved to the much nicer – but still very dangerous in comparison to any nameable town in Kanto – Phenace City, I took a History of Orre class in school. I learned that the root of our problems sprouted seven-hundred years ago, in The First Century of Pokémon. The weak governing system of Orre was founded upon the principles of tradition rather than common sense. Orrenian First Trainers simply tried to mimic the governing system of the nation from which they emerged, which was a democracy."

I didn't know if my slight trouble understanding him was more related to his accent, or the big words he used.

He continued, "So, in the end, there was no law. No one ended up managing to get anything done. Someone would say, 'We need to build houses', and they'd all vote and say it was a good idea. But then the house would be half done and they'd get bored. They would vote to stop building the houses. The ones with common sense would end up having to build the houses all by themselves, but of course they alone couldn't do it well. Go there now and you'll see the quality of the buildings. People there die in earthquakes yearly, because of that. But they can't make building laws because no one votes to put in the extra effort. The point is, back then in the Time Before Pokémon, the _democracy _thing managed to work for a while. But it didn't work for our First Trainers and it doesn't work for Orrenians now. Yet people are too afraid to change the ancient tradition. We may not be at Orre's level yet – but we're the same way.

"The First Trainers of Kanto were _children _– scared, confused, children. They needed to be able to cooperate to survive. They needed an easy method of choosing a leader, someone to hold them together, who everyone would listen to. _Children _only listen to those they respect, and they respect those who are most talented among them. Thus, the method of allowing the best handler of Pokémon to be their leader was the most effective thing for them.

"But Kanto is not a nation of children anymore. We need a leader who is not only talented, but also educated, intelligent, and professional. We need more than deciding who to throw into prison and where to plant berry trees. We need a leader who will understand the issues on which he or she will rule, who will be able to negotiate with other leaders. We need a stable planner – not someone who drops out of school at a young age to start a journey. You're all aware that the previous four Champions we've had, fit that pattern.

"I don't mean to dispute the competence of those four Champions – Wataru, Green, Red, now deceased, and Crys –_ as Trainers_. They are all excellent Trainers. But, save Wataru, none of them are _educated_. How can we expect them to be good _leaders_?"

I uncrossed my legs and then crossed them again.

"It just doesn't make sense," he continued. "We get people who are used to traveling and battling and have them change to holding meetings and signing contracts. It's not good for us _or _them – think of the incident a few years ago. One of our Champions couldn't face the reality of his position and was never heard from again."

I noticed Green clench his fist and stare at the table.

"It just goes to show that the two things aren't compatible." Matis sat down.

"Does… anyone have anything to say?" I asked.

Wataru raised his hand. "I'd like to answer one of Matis's questions. 'How can we expect Trainer to be good leaders?' It's simple. Trainers _are _leaders. Their ability to lead their Pokémon is what makes them powerful. Furthermore, logical or not, adults are not much different from children when it comes to who they respect. They'll be more likely to listen to someone who's proven himself or herself."

"That's true," agreed Matis. "That's why we don't want to abolish the Pokémon League all together. We just need to limit it so that we get people who know what they're doing."

I stood. "So you want to kick out the kids?"

"Not just kids," Matis shook his head. "Anyone who hasn't graduated from a Kantonian school."

"So what are Johtonian people then, second-class citizens?"

"She's right," said Erika nervously. "They deserve a chance, too."

"Yeah, you got a problem with Johto?" Shijima demanded.

"Of course not," he said, turning to me. "I mean no offense to you, _them _– " he motioned towards the side of the table which included the Johto Gym Leaders, "or your culture. But Johtonian schools just don't _teach _the things that world leaders need to know."

I clutched the edge of the table. "What do I need to know that I don't, huh?"

He thought for a moment. "The world _proposals_."

Should've seen that coming. I heard a few muffled snickers.

"So what if I said the wrong thing?" I demanded. "It's not like you've never done that. It's just a mistake; everybody makes those. Everybody's fallen out of a chair at least once in their life!"

"Champion," he said tragically, shaking his head, "that's just the thing. At your age, you shouldn't have to be defending yourself over something like that. You should be giggling about it with your friends at home."

I resisted growling at him. If he didn't want me to have to defend myself over something like that, why was he attacking me for it?

"And yet," he continued, "you stay here, too proud to back down and admit that this _Championship _thing is not what you had in mind. And of course it wasn't. Or else you – carefree teenager that you are – never would have chosen it."

"How can you say that?" I argued. "You hardly know me!"

"But it's _true_, isn't it?"

That caught me off guard. _Was _it? I almost didn't know.

I was spared having to answer by Green's hand slowly rising. I was afraid of what he'd have to say and almost told him to put his hand down – but then I caught sight of the expression on his face. It was oddly sober.

"Yes, Green?" I said.

He stood up. "You know, I think you're right. Being the future Champion is just a thing for kids to brag about on the playground. Most of them don't really understand the reality. And the ones that do – the ones that know that if they become the Champion, the fate of the region depends on their education – are surpassed by those playground kids who start young, neglecting their studies, to defeat each other. It's not fair to other potential Champions, and it's not fair to the kids.

"Red ran away because he bit off more than he could chew. Or maybe he didn't bite it off. Maybe… _some _of us… stuffed it in his mouth. Like the media. And me." He shook his head. "But the thing is, we all know there's more to this than just wanting an educated Champion. You know why? Because Matis never graduated from a school in Kanto. He's not going to try and get _himself _kicked out of the League with this proposal, though. He's going to change it to _adult citizens of Kanto_. And in the end it'll all come down to one more debate over one more thing that we want to separate from Johto."

Matis shook his head. "Of course not! I'd make a program for adults who didn't get the chance to graduate from a proper school, to learn the necessary skills!"

"Yeah," said Green airily, "but then you'd realize that it took time and money and you'd change it to _adult citizens of Kanto_."

Matis shrugged. "I won't deny that it's a good alternative. Would you believe that citizenship of Kanto is directly related to likelihood that you'll graduate from a Kantonian school?"

"But not true in your case," Green pointed out.

"I passed the citizenship test," said Matis. "You need to understand how the Kanto government works to do that. In fact, I believe I understand it better than many who've been citizens of Kanto all their lives. And people from Johto _can _become citizens of Kanto, too. They're just so stubborn that they often don't do so."

"It's different for us," I protested. "People from Orre can just be citizens. That's all there is to it. No sacrifice. They can go back to Orre whenever they want to. And people from Kanto treat them as fellow Kantonians. But if you're from Johto and you become a citizen of Kanto, you're never allowed to return home. And you're never able to feel at home here, because all the Kantonians bother you and call you 'Johto punk' all the time. Who in the heck would choose that!?"

Matis shrugged. "Listen. If you're going to rule over our region, is it asking too much of you to be a citizen of it?"

"But Kanto's been ruling over Johto for a hundred years!" Tsukushi piped up.

Matis grinned wickedly at that remark. "Did you learn that at your little Johtonian school?"

"Yeah," said Tsukushi, "but _everyone _knows…"

Matis held out his open hand, then put brought his middle finger to his thumb, signaling Tsukushi to stop talking. "Every time I talk to a Johtonian about politics, I notice how eager they are to state their opinions on how _unfair _it is that Kantonians rule over Johto. And how _hesitant _they are to bring up the _history _of that particular arrangement…"

He pointed at me suddenly. "Champion! I'm sure _you _know about the Pact of Tohjo. Right?"

"Well, yeah," I stammered. "I mean, the king of Johto signed a contract with the champion of Kanto that surrendered all of his authority, in return for Kanto's technologies. Right?"

"Right. What else happened?"

I frowned. "Well, for a few years, some of the soldiers who came in from Kanto used the small print in the contract as an excuse to kill and rape the Johtonians and make them slaves. Until the new Champion made them stop. Is that what you mean?"

"Right," Matis said. "That stuff did happen – some of the time. Of course it did, without any laws having yet been established to prevent it. The Kanto Champion had no idea it was happening, but it did. And I'm sure you've already heard every sick detail of every injustice every Johtonian has ever suffered. Did they ever teach you, though, that Johto was in a state of absolute ruin prior to that? People were rebelling left and right. And Pokémon were rebelling against humans. If Kanto had _really _wanted, it could have easily invaded. If we'd wanted, you would've all been obliterated. Heck, the easiest way to obliterate you would've been to just leave you alone.

"But we didn't. We did you a _favor_. We brought some order to your region, as well as our technology. If we were to leave now, what would you have? Everything would go to chaos again.

"So basically, what I'm trying to say is, Kanto is doing Johto a favor by ruling over it. It's like a parent raising a child. Someday, maybe Johto will have developed enough to become independent. But it's not there yet. And it's not equivalent to having non-Kantonians - and _children_ - being our leaders."

Silence. Matis's words tended to have that effect on people. This ridiculous "meeting" had been been adjourned and continued about three times so far, because Matis would talk forever, but once he was done, everyone else would be completely silent. Maybe out of respect, and maybe out of contemplation, or maybe even boredom for people like Tsukushi - who was now doodling on the table with an eraser - but everything was silent. Even Green always ran out of witty remarks once Matis gave his long-lecture.

And me? I was silent because anything I said would have come out as a screaming fury. Really. I was biting my own lips to keep from screaming.

There we were, Kantonians and Johtonians alike, sitting at a table in the Indigo Plateau discussing the proposal that would change the entire future of our culture... and nobody could say anything.

Finally, I spun around on my heels and grabbed the piece of chalk that was on the ledge of the chalkboard behind me. I made an angrily elongated dash next to a numeral 1, then turned to Matis

"How exactly to you want me to word your _proposal_?" I asked icily.

He paused to consider. "You know what? I'll deign to take Green-kun's idea. _To restrict the distribution of Trainer Cards to adult citizens of Kanto." _

Several gasps. I just stared.

"You mean you're really going to _do _that!?" Even Green sounded shocked. "_Now?_ No pretense?"

"Good ideas don't _need_ pretense." He said matter-of-factly.

As I began to write down Matis's proposal on the board, I suddenly remembered something. "Anzu, do you still have Natsume's proposal?"

"Yes. Should I read it?"

"I guess so."

"Here then. My proposal is..." she paused. I turned around to watch her, and saw that she had a funny look on her face. "To end the abuse of Pokémon, theft of items, attacks against humans, and other problems that overall stem from immaturity... shut down all schools?"

Ibuki laughed. "What the heck?"

"Are you sure that's what it says?" asked Mikan.

"Yes I am." Anzu shrugged.

"I vote for that one," said Tsukushi.

"She _is _a psychic," Karen reminded us.

"Does anyone have any _normal _proposals?" I asked, jotting down Natsume's odd one anyway.

"I propose you adjourn the meeting," Green said, not even bothering to raise his hand. "It's over."

"What the...?" I asked, and looked at my PokéGear. Sure enough, it was.

I sighed. "Looks like we'll have to continue this. _Again_. Meeting adjourned."

The Gym Leaders, Elite Four, and I shuffled uncomfortably out of the hall. People slowly began talking as they exited the building, but I knew I'd attack Matis if I stayed around, so I didn't join in. As I passed by Katsura, he caught my eye.

"Don't worry, Crys-chan," he said nicely. "Matis is an extremist. He's obsessed with Kantonians. Kind of ironic, considering he's not one. By birth, anyway."

I smiled even though it didn't cheer me. "Thanks you. I guess you're right."

I hoped so, anyway.


	3. Chapter Two

_**Author's Note: Hi guys! Thanks for anyone who bothered to wait for this chapter. Hopefully future updates will be more frequent. **_

**_SO. I switched to Japanese names. There is no reason for this except that name changing really gets under my skin. With names, there are also honorifics. I know that this is going to really piss some people off and some of you are going to want to give me a long lecture about how you should never use Japanese honorifics in an English fanfic and blah blah blah. Guys, I've heard it all, and I really don't care. I like using the honorifics and that's all there is to it. If you don't like it, don't read the fanfic. Or copy and paste onto Word and find-and-replace all the honorifics away._**

**_HOWEVER, if you have any suggestions/criticism on how to better use the honorifics, don't hesitate to let me know/chew me out for screwing up. _**

**_Oh and as for the chapter itself... the main thing that bothers me about it is that Crys has barely mentioned her Pokemon so far in the fic... but I'll fix that soon._**

All right, let's backtrack a little bit for this part.

Before Green flew off to the meeting in the Indigo Plateau, he stopped by the PokéMart in Tokiwa City to stock up on supplies.

Years ago - so I'm told - Tokiwa City was a clearing of a forest. It had been dim from the trees that hovered over it on all sides, and you had to speak loudly to be heard over the constant chirp of Poppo and buzz of Spear. On the outskirts of town, bug catchers had showed off the newest additions to their team, and lasses had plucked leaves from each others' hair. Occasionally a rookie trainer, fresh out of the forest, would have been stomping his feet in anger outside the Tokiwa Gym, demanding a challenge and daring the absent Gym Leader to come out of hiding and fight him. These trainers had never considered the idea that they would have lost even if Sakaki _had _been there to battle.

It was different now that the forest was gone - well, almost gone, anyway. Poppo and bug catchers searched for Caterpie elsewhere. Trainers entered the town looking as though they'd just had a stroll through the park.

Green never had been a sentimental person, yet the absence of the forest he'd braved as a child made the city seem empty. He took comfort in the mosses that grew on the stony pavement and buildings; it made him feel as though the forest refused to die.

How odd he should feel this way.

But then again, everything seemed to sadden Green these days. Ever since he'd heard about Red.

As Green neared the PokéMart, he sensed somebody watching him. He looked up and met the eyes of a girl standing by the Mart's entrance.

He stopped walking - a sudden déjà vu swept over him as he took in the girl's features. She was a Trainer - that was clear. She was dressed like a lass, but her clothes were worn and her hair was matted. The look on her face was unreadable - a mixture of hope, hunger, and fear - and she wouldn't remove her gaze from Green's face.

As Green approached the Mart entrance, the girl gestured toward him and opened her mouth - then closed it, seeming to lose courage to speak. Green knew it would have been polite ask what she wanted, but he strode past her. If she didn't have the will to say it, he didn't have the time to listen. Besides, she was probably just a fangirl.

"Good morning!" The merchant greeted Green as he stepped in. "What can I get you today?"

"Three Potions and a Paralyze Heal, please."

"Yessir. Going on a trip?" Green noted the overly-friendly tone in the man's voice. The merchant was one of those people who knew that it was a big deal to be an acquaintance of a former champion and was proud of it, but tried to act like it didn't matter.

"Briefly," Green answered dismissively.

"I see." The merchant turned to take the items off the shelves. "I saw that girl there talking to you. Do you know her?"

Something in the man's tone implied there was something significant about this.

"That - nothing. She just wanted to ask me to battle."

_"Oh_," the man said - but his face was disappointed by, and doubtful of, the casual answer. "That's all? There was a brief pause and the merchant must have felt awkward, because he added, "That's pretty rude. You _think _they'd learn to just appear at the Gym."

Green was getting irritated. "It's fine. She's just a kid."

He glanced impatiently at the door and caught sight of the girl watching them through the window.

Déjà vu again. Green didn't know why.

"Whatever you say," the man rattled on. There was a thud - the merchant had dropped the items onto the table. Green took the change from the tray, placed the potions in his bag, and started off.

He passed the girl again on his way out, and was ignoring her again when she caught his hand.

He spun around and looked at her. There was a tentative smile on her face and her eyes bore right into him.

"Green," she whispered. "It's me. Leaf."

He blinked.

"You recognize me, don't you, Green?" She continued, her face unchanging. "It hasn't been _that _long?"

"Erm... I'm sorry? Did we battle before, or something?" Sometimes Green met up with people who had battled him before he became the Champion. They all hoped he remembered them, but he rarely did.

"Battle - what, no!" There was a hint of desperation. "It' _me, _silly! _Leaf_!"

This was odd. Usually his forgotten former rivals were mildly disappointed to learn that Green didn't remember them. This girl was in a frenzy.

''I'm sorry," said Green unsurely. "Remind me how I met you...?"

"We were babies!" She cried.

"Um, you must be mistaken - "

"It happened! We went to school together!" She almost shrieked in his face.

Cleary, this girl had mental issues. Green backed away, smiling awkwardly. Trying to lighten the mood, he said, "If I'd ever known someone named Leaf, I _think _I'd remember - "

"You don't remember?" She butted in. "You don't remember when you said we'd be friends our whole lives!?"

And suddenly Green remembered where the déjà vu came from.

_Green smirked. He loved this feeling. He towered above the black-eyed boy in both body and power, and he loved it. He laughed._

_"I don't like to _play _anymore, Red!"_

_"But, why?"_ _His black eyes were as deep as Mt. Otsukimi._

_"'Cause you're a loser-crybaby!" _

_"Why!?" Red scrambled to his feet._

_"I hate you!" Green fist met Red's jaw and the smaller boy fell back onto his knees. Cruel laughter filled the air._

_There was pure anger and hurt in Red's eyes - yet the boy did nothing to stand up for himself._

_"You too chicken to fight back?" Green sneered._

_"I could never hurt you, Green," Red said steadily._

_"Why?"_

_"'_Why_?'" Red shot, springing to his feet. "You don't remember? You don't remember when you said we'd be friends our whole lives!?" _

Stunned, Green stepped backwards, yanking away from the girl. "I'm sorry," He said tightly. "That wasn't me."

"But we've been friends since we were little!" Leaf protested.

He backed away. "No."

She pursued him. "We both hoped that each other would be Champion someday!"

"That's not - "

"Remember the hiking trip when the whole class raced to the top of Mt. Otsukimi and we won - together!?"

_A dusty path. Mud. Red face down in it._

_"That'll teach you to get ahead of me, loser! I'm gonna win - by myself!" Green laughed as he ran away._

Green stared at the girl dumbly.

Her deep eyes were as black as Mt. Otsukimi.

"Please Green?" She whispered. "Not you, too."

She grabbed his wrist and he flinched; her touch was like the bite of an Itomaru. Then something rose up in him. That cold thing that he'd hoped he'd never see again - there it was. It kicked his vulnerability in the gut and all that was left was a calm, stiff disgust.

Green yanked his hand away hard and Leaf stumbled before falling onto her knees.

"That never happened. You must be mistaken."

The coldness didn't recede until Green had put quite a bit of distance between himself and the PokéMart. He looked back over his shoulder. Leaf was gone.

Shaken, Green pressed the button on his belt and appeared in a beam of red light. He climbed onto its back without saying anything.

"Sekiei Plateau. Fly," were the only words he could manage.

Green's eyes were locked on Mt. Otsukimi until it was time to land.

-

OK. Now let's get back to where we were.

Sigh. Meetings. Matis was right about one thing - they were not what I had envisioned when I stood before the Sekiei Plateau that fateful day. Geez. I don't even know what I did envision. When I decided to take the Gym Challenge, I was only thinking about getting away from Wakaba Town. I'd wanted to go to a place where it would just be me and my Pokémon, and no one else to hold us down. That happiness had ended at Fusube City.

Except for the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was my haven when I wanted to be alone with my Pokémon, and Wataru. The two of us would meet there and he'd tell me stories about Champions past. He loved history and knew the answer to almost any question you could think of. In return, I told him about Johto. Wataru was from Johto, but had moved to Kanto when he was very young and didn't remember very much. He liked to hear about Johto's legends.

Wataru had gone to eat dinner after the meeting, though, so I expected the Hall of Fame to be empty. Thus, I was a little taken aback when I swung open the door to see none other than Green.

"Oh! H-hi," I said.

"Good evening, Champion," Green said nonchalantly as I shut the door behind me. "You seem rather surprised to see me.

'I just - "

"What's the matter? Have you forgotten that I, too, was once the Champion?"

I grimaced. "It's not that. I'm just not used to running into people here."

"I see." Green's voice was oddly mellow and distant.

I moved to stand next to Green. He was facing the wall that showed every former champion's picture. I spotted my own picture in a corner, next to Red's. My face looked rather plain, and my hair was dirty, but you could tell I was glowing with joy. Next to me, Red beamed at the camera like an excited schoolboy. It was kind of funny, seeing him like that - everyone thought of him as this great legendary Champion who defeated Team Rocket, became Champion, and then ran away and mysteriously disappeared. But judging from the picture, he could have been any ordinary kid off the street. I found Wataru's picture. He wore a calm but deep smile. Green's much-younger-seeming face was between the pictures of Wataru and Red, and Green stood out for his youth and by the fact that he was sticking his tongue out at the camera. I wondered if Green was looking at that picture and regretting the fact that he hadn't taken his short reign more seriously. But then I glanced at Green's face, and I could see that he wasn't looking at his own picture.

He was looking at Red's.

_Oh_, I thought, swallowing. That explained why Green was acting so distant. I'd probably interrupted him in some kind of memorial for Red. Now that I thought about it, Wataru had told me that Red and Green had known each other since they were babies.

"Should I leave you alone, Green?" I asked tentatively. I didn't want to butt in but I didn't want him to think I didn't want to be around him.

Green turned around and looked at me directly for the first time. "No. It's fine."

"Are you, um, thinking about Red?"

He nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm, um, sorry for your loss."

He looked at me fiercely. "I don't think he's really dead."

I gulped. "Oh?"

"They just declared him dead because they needed a new permanent Champion. They really had no reason to believe that. Just because there was a rock slide in the place where he was last spotted doesn't mean he's dead."

"…That's true," I said solemnly.

"For all we know," Green continued, "Red is living among us now. He could have changed his identity. I'm sure that's what happened. He was getting sick of the pressure of being the Champion. That doesn't mean he'd become some kind of hermit."

"Hmm." I nodded.

"Besides," Green continued, "a rock slide wouldn't kill Red. Nothing could. That kid was… just invincible."

"That's how I felt about my brother," I blurted – then bit my tongue. _Why did I just say that!? _

Casually, Green shifted his attention to me. "Who?"

Darn. I had to tell him now. My heart was beating rapidly.

I wasn't used to talking about my brother.

"My… older brother went missing when I was in third grade," I explained, trying to sound matter-of-fact, but failing. "He was… I was sure he was all right. But he… they found his body in Tsunagari Cave."

"Oh," said Green quietly. "I'm… so sorry to hear that."

"Don't be. I don't know why I just told you," I said, sitting down against the shelf that held the Hall of Fame PC. "I don't like to talk about it."

Green sat down next to me. "Why not?"

I considered. "Because people don't care."

"Makes sense," said Green. "But why'd you tell me, then?"

"Because I can't keep my mouth shut," I answered automatically. But then I thought about it – why _had _I? "You have… this thing about you. And it makes me want to tell you things. I guess it's because you'd understand."

Green raised his eyebrows. "I would, would I?"

"Well, yeah," I said. "I mean, since your friend is missing too."

Green laughed cynically. "I was never Red's _'friend'_. And you might want to think twice before pouring your heart out to me again. I'll probably stomp on it."

I bit my lip. This was why I didn't talk about it. Stupid me. "S-sorry."

"Don't apologize," said Green. "I was just warning you."

"Hmm," I said, and sighed. "Hey, Green?"

"Yeah?"

"About Red… what was he like?"

Green laughed again, though more softly this time. "Of all the questions you could have asked me about Red, you ask that one. Look. I grew up with Red. I could tell you his address, his date of birth, and his mother's maiden name, but I don't think I ever really knew what he was like.

"Red was… I guess there were some obvious qualities. He was quiet. He always seemed kind of disconnected from the outside world. But he was really friendly and adventurous. And he always seemed kind of weak, but nothing had the power to really bring him down." He paused and looked at me suddenly. "You know what? Now that I think about it, Red is a lot like you."

"Really?" I asked, curious and pleased. "How so?"

"Hmm. Well, you know. Kind-hearted. Curious. And… " he grinned wickedly as he sprung to his feet. "And really fun to tease."

"H-hey!" I jumped up, ready to give him a piece of my mind – but he'd already turned his back on me.

I crossed my arms and pouted at him behind his back. "You're such a jerk."

"I know I am," Green said nonchalantly as he moved towards the door. Then he paused, doubled over, and looked at the picture wall. "Smell ya later."

"What!?" I demanded indignantly.

"I wasn't talking to you," Green said quietly as he shut the door behind him.


End file.
